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Committee rejects county increase for Jamestown Community College library asbestos abatement
Summary
Jamestown Community College asked Chautauqua County to increase its share of a library renovation to cover unexpected asbestos abatement; the committee voted down the county’s $68,750 increase after debate about precedent and project oversight.
Chautauqua County’s Administrative Services Committee voted against increasing the county’s contribution for Jamestown Community College’s Hult Hultquist Library renovation to cover unexpected asbestos abatement costs.
Kathleen Dennison, interim vice president of finance and operations for Jamestown Community College, told the committee that asbestos discovered during the library renovation raised project costs by about $275,000. Dennison said the college’s total project budget would increase from about $543,000 to roughly $818,000 and asked the county to increase its 25% share by $68,750. “When we got into the project it also involves replacing the carpet and repainting the space…when we started moving books and pulling up carpet asbestos was revealed,” Dennison said.
Committee members expressed concern about setting a precedent of using the county’s capital reserve to cover unforeseen overruns on college-managed projects. One member said the county allocates funds to JCC but does not control the college’s management of projects and warned that approving the request would be a “dangerous precedent.”
Chair and other committee members debated options Dennison described if the county did not increase funding: the college could seek money from its capital fee reserves, approach the Jamestown College Foundation, request additional state funding, or delay another college project such as generator replacement. Dennison said the college had not yet approached the state regarding an increase and had not identified alternative sources that would fully cover the cost.
Committee members initially debated and then voted on an amendment to increase the county’s share by $68,750; the amendment passed in the first voice vote but the subsequent final vote on the amended resolution failed and the requested county increase was defeated. The transcript records conflicting procedural moments during the vote but the final outcome recorded in this meeting was that the increased county contribution was not approved.
The committee then moved to other agenda items. Dennison said the college would explore other funding options if the county did not provide additional funds.
Votes on this agenda item were procedural and the transcript does not show a roll-call tally by name for the final defeated motion.
